The Detroit Red Wings suspended star forward Dylan Larkin without pay Thursday after he informed the team he no longer wanted to play for the organization. He will forfeit $41,000 per day in salary during the suspension.
Larkin, 30, missed morning skate and was held out of the lineup for trade-related reasons. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff confirmed the team received a call from Larkin's agent stating he would not come to the rink.
"To put it simply, we received a call from Dylan's agent today saying that Dylan wasn't going to be coming to the rink today and no longer wanted to be part of the Red Wings," Horcoff said. He characterized trade discussions as "ongoing."
Horcoff noted constant interest in Larkin. "The truth is when you have a player of Dylan's caliber available, your phone rings daily," he said.
Larkin initially requested a trade in June. He has spent his entire professional career with the Red Wings, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2014. Sources indicated Larkin met with his agents, Pat Brisson and Matt Williams, on Wednesday evening and determined the Red Wings had dragged their feet since his trade request.
Larkin expanded his initial list of potential trade destinations from three teams to 10 last week. He is in the fourth year of an eight-year contract worth $8.7 million annually and has a no-trade clause.
Horcoff said he noticed a shift in Larkin's demeanor during the team's recent road trip. "I think the last few days maybe on the road trip, you could sense that things were a little bit off with him, and he was growing maybe a little bit more frustrated," Horcoff said.
Larkin was part of the U.S. men's hockey team that won Olympic gold in February, the first for the U.S. since 1980. He reported to Red Wings training camp but was stripped of his captaincy before the season began. He also missed the start of the season due to an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve.
